The Government’s changes to the Better Access program were done with scant consultation with key stakeholders with little attempt to assess the impact of the changes on patients.
Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Shadow Minister for Mental Health, said the Coalition Senators on the Community Affairs Committee wrote a dissenting report critical of the Government’s moves.
“The changes come into effect today and reduce the number of sessions attracting Medicare rebates available under the Better Access program to a cap of 10 per calendar year,” Senator Fierravanti-Wells said.
“There are changes to the amount of rebate paid to GPs preparing mental health plans for patients and the expected savings from both measures are to be reinvested in the Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) program.
“Until the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centres (EPPIC) and additional headspace centres have been established and are operational, it will be difficult to fully assess the impact of these changes.
“The Coalition Senators are concerned that the consequences of the shift from Better Access to ATAPS have not been fully considered.
“There was an estimate given during the public hearings that there are potentially 87,000 people who are going to move from Better Access to ATAPS and there is a question as to whether the structure of ATAPS can meet this demand.
“Added to this is the uncertainty of the move from the current system of Divisions of General Practice to Medical Locals and how these changes will exacerbate already strained financial and structural issues.
“As it has in so many Health and Ageing issues, the Government has taken some action but failed to adequately assess the impact of those actions on key stakeholders and in this case, most importantly, the patients.”